Maddie interviews The Ready Set!

Maddie Birkett for Music Injection interviewing Jordan from The Ready Set. Check out more info on The Ready Set THE-READY-SET-Bio-2014 (1)

Thank you so much Jordan for agreeing to do this interview! I’ve admired your work for a while now and there is no doubt in my mind that you’ll be selling out stadiums all over the world and getting number 1 hits on all of the charts.

What inspired the name The Ready Set?

I really like “the” names. That’s not the whole reason though, it means willingness to chase after something.. Whatever you want in life is yours.

The bands you were in before TRS were all completely different in genres, how did you decide on The Ready Set’s sound? Did you make a decision on TRS’ sound or is it just how it all worked out?

It kind of just worked out this way. I am not great at guitar, so acoustic solo project was kind of out of the question. Electronic stuff was what I had on hand, and it made the most sense to me. I just taught myself in logic and went from there.

Starting from scratch, how did you break out of it to receive the success you have today? Did YouTube help? As you managed to utilise it well by interacting and entertaining fans from your art class to the setisodes.

It was a lot of touring and early social media stuff like MySpace. Youtube was never really a big game changer for me, or at least hadn’t been- it was more about radio and shows for me. It definitely is different now though, all the content makes a huge difference.

The Bad & the Better is your most recent album, what inspired the songs on that album? I noticed that many of the songs are about love, but they’re from completely different perspectives.

It’s all over the place inspiration-wise. I always write about love even when I’m not writing about love. I think it’s the common bond between everybody in the world- everybody can relate because everybody feels it. It’s just always been natural for me to hang on those topics.

How did you come up with the concept for the ‘Higher’ video? I don’t really understand how it relates to the song, but I really like how different and random it is (with all the PSA’s), which makes it interesting! I now know to wear bracelets when I’m meeting new people because it’s a great conversation starter.. haha.

It literally has absolutely nothing to do with the song. Honestly, music videos are the one thing I’ve never totally loved doing, so having the opportunity to go nuts and be bizarre was much more exciting to me! My favorite videos are always the weirder ones.

When I first heard ‘Fangz’ I was sort of surprised, it seemed really different from the rest of the album, especially the beat in the chorus, but I love the lyric “Don’t let go, you are in control”, it just really seems like an anthem! (Of course I love the rest of the song too!). What influenced and inspired this song?

Yeah I want that song to feel anthemic. I’ve been really into minimalistic production, I think that’s where the vibe came from. It’s super fun live, it ends up having some of the most energy of the set.

This song was released before the new album, but what was the reasoning behind using sign language for the lyric video of ‘Give Me Your Hand’? I don’t think it’s very common but I think it’s a great idea, especially to connect to those who aren’t able to hear the song.

We did a show once where there was a sign language translator translating all the words from the songs, so that made me think it would be a cool lyric video. A lot of people learned the whole thing which was super sick.

You played Warped Tour last year, do you have any funny or interesting memories to share from it, or anything that you learned?

One time on warped at like 2 in the morning in the bus lot, a naked guy on a skateboard flew by me and my group of friends. I never found out who it was, or why he was doing that. It’s a mystery.

What is the best part about touring?

All of it.. I love the shows, living on a bus, being in a new place every day, having friends all around the country and world.. It’s always a party.

Favourite song to play live and why?

Give me your hand is always fun, and Higher. They both have a bunch of energy.. And they are the opener and closer of every set.

What is the best tour/show you’ve played yet, and why?

I always love warped, but my favorite shows were the early radio festivals we did. Some of the most unexpected and largest crowds I had ever played to at the time. I had no idea Id ever get to play an arena.

What’s the best experience or achievement you’ve made through The Ready Set?

Probably selling a couple million songs would be the obvious thing, but I think for me it’s just getting to do what I want all the time. I just make music and that’s it, it’s so incredibly chill even when it’s stressful. Best job.

What was the idea around releasing an EP dedicated to celebrities (The Celebrity EP) and why did you choose those particular celebrities?

I did a little song as a joke to Taylor swift a couple years ago that got some traction, so my manager and I thought “why not do a couple more for fun”.. So I did just that. We kind of picked celebrities at random really, though I think all the ones I picked are awesome and very song-worthy..

‘Trash Talkin’ Love’ seems to take on a different vibe compared to The Bad & The Better, what was the vision while writing the song?

Bonnie and Clyde, basically. Gritty sounding production, simple and stompy. I think it came out exactly as I hoped, and kitty is a friend of mine who did an awesome job on her verse.

What’s next for The Ready Set? Your social media implies that your working on some new music, is there anything you can tell us about it?

I’ve written over 40 songs so far this year, some for me, some for others. I have a handful of non-TRS things happening very soon that I’ve kept weirdly quite. I usually blow my secrets. A ton of stuff is happening soon though, I think people will be surprised.

You have another side project, Cold Shoulders which is a band with Jared Ryan Maldonado from Dresses, Trevor Dahl from Plug in Stereo and yourself who happen to be releasing your EP this month! What can fans expect from this EP and what motivated the songs?

We wanted to do something free of all label stuff. We each have had different experiences and we just wanted to not think about anything from a music business standpoint and just write off the top of our heads. I think the EP will probably show that. I’m proud of it.

Any plans on coming to Australia in the near future?

I hope so! I came in 2012 for sound wave and had a blast. People were very friendly to us!

What is some advice you would give to someone who wanted to start their career in music? Is there anything you wish you knew at the time?

Surround yourself with positive people and energy. Intend on success and don’t be discouraged by speed bumps along the way. Everything you do, as small as it may seem, can be a huge thing down the road. Write your own songs and get as confident as you can doing so. I wish I knew how slow some things can be, but aside from that, I’ve had a great team for a long time so I’m really thankful.

Five Quick Q’s!

Who is one artist you wish you could write a song for?

Whoever has a history of #1’s!

One band or artist you’d love to go on tour with?

Prince

Craziest fan encounter/experience?

Getting a plate of cupcakes left in my mailbox with a creepy note. Fascinating approach.

Favourite song at the moment?

“Go For It” by CRUISR

Lastly, because I’m sure fans are dying to know, when is the next #TRSArtClass?

Maybe soon! I haven’t been putting a ton of time into the video stuff recently because of all this new music I’ve been writing, but maybe when I get a free couple of days I’ll get some art going..

Thanks again Jordan for taking the time to answer these questions!

Make sure to stay up to date with The Ready Set for the exciting projects that Jordan is working on!
Written by Maddie Birkett @Maddiebirkett